The Best 2000s Performers Who Wore Face Paint

In the late 90s, pro wrestling went through a metamorphosis. Heading into the new millennium, the average wrestling fan’s taste had transformed significantly. The era of clean-cut, family-friendly sports entertainment was in the rearview and was replaced by a product that constantly pushed the envelope. To put it bluntly, the average wrestling fan had become raunchy and blood thirsty

The cultural shift led to a steep decline in gimmicky characters and opened the door for more reality-based personas with little flair. As the 2000s went on, though, a handful of performers emerged who put a little more effort into their presentation and chose to stand out from the crowd using face paint. These particular face-painted performers were the best from the 2000s.

6

Goldust

Admittedly, finding relevant face-painted performers during the 2000s was slim pickings. Luckily, there were a couple of carryovers from the 90s who were still going strong in the 2000s and evolved their face paint enough to make the cut. Goldust was one of those carryovers. In the 90s, the Goldust character was as controversial a character as we’ve ever seen in WWE. By the 2000s, though, Goldie’s presentation had shifted considerably.

Goldust went from a hypersexual androgynous character designed to make viewers uncomfortable to a comedic character. Surprisingly, the character shift worked wonders for Goldust. This iteration of Goldust also featured updated face paint. It wasn’t a far departure from the face paint he wore in the 90s, but he did enough to help make his character feel different. In 2007, Dustin Rhodes would debut his Black Reign character in TNA. The character wasn’t good by any means, but it featured yet another spin on the Goldust presentation and face paint.

5

Sting

Did I mention the pickings were slim during this decade? Spoiler alert: Sting will appear in every decade countdown of face-painted performers. Sting had a famous tag line, “The only thing that’s for sure about Sting is nothing’s for sure.” That should be amended, though, because there’s another thing that was for sure about Sting, the fact that he always kept evolving. The 2000s were no different.

Sting’s evolution during the 2000s wasn’t as obvious as going from surfer to Crow, but it was still impactful. When WCW closed in 2001, Sting went on hiatus for a couple of years before re-emerging in TNA in 2003. The TNA version of Sting was a bit bolder. He never quite went back to the bright surfer colors, but he incorporated a little more color into his presentation. This included adding red to his face paint and playing around with the design. It was a simple tweak, but one that went a long way.

4

Samoa Joe

This one is probably going to get mixed reviews. Samoa Joe’s legacy is pretty secure at this point. Joe has been a force in the wrestling business for over 20 years now. His time in TNA, specifically, is an era that many Samoa Joe fans hold dearly. In 2009, Samoa Joe and TNA were trying something different with Joe’s character and presentation. This led to Joe’s “Nation of Violence” run.

The character overhaul saw Joe become darker, more violent, and more aggressive. It also saw Joe debut face paint that was meant to look like a tribal tattoo. In theory, the face paint was supposed to make Joe look tougher and highlight his Samoan heritage. Some fans dug it while others hated it. The plans for Joe and The Nation of Violence never really panned out, and before long, this version of Joe was scrapped. Hate it or love it, this version of Joe was different enough to be memorable.

3

Umaga

It’s pretty obvious why TNA felt like Samoa Joe’s tribal face paint would make him look more menacing, right? A Samoan wearing face paint meant to look like a tribal tattoo. I wonder where TNA could’ve gotten that idea. Joe is undeniably a legend, but his Nation of Violence version was never going to hold a candle to Umaga. “The Samoan Bulldozer” was a different breed of character. When Umaga debuted in 2007, he immediately left an impression on fans.

Umaga was an absolute monster. He was like a mix of Yokozuna and The Wild Samoans all rolled into one. His presentation was taken to the next level with his tribal face paint that looked like a face tattoo. The face paint mixed with Umaga’s scowl made for an intimidating look. Umaga’s time atop the wrestling world was brief, but in that brief time, he became an unforgettable character and even spawned some imitators.

2

The Boogeyman

The 2000s were a bit void of the over-the-top pageantry that defined the 80s and early 90s WWE product. That’s partly what made a character like The Boogeyman stand out so much and be so memorable. In the early 90s, The Boogeyman would probably have gotten lost in the shuffle and may have largely been forgotten, like Mantaur or Phantasio. In the 2000s, though, The Boogeyman was unlike any other character on the WWE roster.

While some of the older fans who came up in the Attitude Era didn’t care much for the hokey Boogeyman, he left quite the impression on young fans from the Ruthless Aggression era. His face paint was among the best ever in wrestling, regardless of the era. The face paint, the attire, the body language, and, of course, the worms made for an unforgettable character that, despite not having any memorable matches, will likely stand the test of time.

1

Jeff Hardy

The Boogeyman made a real push to be the top entry on this list. When looking at strictly face paint, Boogeyman is hard to beat. However, Jeff Hardy had just as impressive and memorable face paint as The Boogeyman, but accomplished a lot more in the ring. Honestly, Jeff Hardy is the first name that comes to mind when talking about face-painted performers in the 2000s. Jeff’s face paint happened organically. He didn’t have any big heel turn or have any storyline character shift. It was something that just happened and fit his character and personality.

Jeff was always portrayed as the artistic type. The introduction of face paint was just another layer of artistic expression. The face paint took on a life of its own, though. What started as just a little glow-in-the-dark paint to enhance his entrance soon became one of his calling cards. Honestly, the face paint sort of completed Jeff’s “Charismatic Enigma” persona. There’s perhaps nothing more enigmatic than wearing artistic face paint. Jeff’s face paint debuted in the 2000s but has become more prevalent as the years have gone by. At this point, it’s honestly hard to imagine Jeff Hardy without his face paint.